Have some professional development fun with our Twelve Days of Christmas changes in the new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.
Cheers for the holidays!
The WCEA partners know how to have fun, but navigating deadlines through the holiday season can be a challenge. Here are some suggestions to help you gain some semblance of work-life balance during the dark days of December.
Books and baking are the ultimate holiday combo for Frances, who suggests you check out these 11 literary-inspired Christmas cookies and desserts.
Audrey came across this Christmas card of “crackers” from copy editors at The Times of London. The card provides a hearty holiday laugh, and the accompanying discussion some sober second thought. It’s a good list to keep close by as a reminder about unnecessary words and phrases.
Louise wonders what could be more seasonal than Nobel laureate Bob Dylan reading “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Lana suggests a nostalgic wintery flight with The Snowman. It’s screened annually with live musical accompaniment at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music winter concert and is available all year online.
Need a break from eggnog? Merrie-Ellen recommends wassail, a spiced hot cider traditionally shared by neighbours visiting and singing carols together. The Canadian Brass will help you get in the mood with “Here We Come A-Wassailing.”
Georgina says: whatever your traditions at this time of year, consider challenging your imaginative self to out-create the makers of these clever Christmas tree substitutes. Then, on the 24th, sit by your festive tree with a warm something to sip.
Yvonne suggests giving yourself the gift of time to listen to Dylan Thomas himself reading A Child’s Christmas in Wales. With a glass of eggnog, mulled wine, or wassail in hand, revel in the rhythm and beauty of the words: “All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street…”
Finally, along with family-favourite movies and indulgences in food and drink, Ruth recommends a Christmas Movie Workout to fend off the extra pounds when the weather is nasty and the local gym is closed. During your movie binge-watching, every time you hear the word on the left, do the exercise beside it:
- Christmas – 1 minute of running on the spot
- Present – 20 squats
- Santa – 1 minute of plank
- Turkey – 20 sit-ups (ab crunches)
- Eggnog – 20 push-ups
- Chocolate – 20 jumping jacks
- Candle – 10 lunges (each leg)
- Humbug – 10 side leg raises (each leg)
- Angel – 10 triceps dips (using a chair)
- Star – 10 burpees
Ruth took her inspiration from Heather Neal’s Top 10 Christmas Workouts.